Squatters Bloc at March for Homes – Sat 31st January

January 2015 is hotting up on the housing front. Defend Council Housing and South London People’s Assembly called the “March for Homes” last year, setting a date for Saturday, 31st January 2015. While there was a slow take-up at first, more groups are now getting involved. The Radical Housing Network endorsed the march a few weeks ago, and squatters are organising a squat bloc for the big day. Spread it, network it, get down there.

Call-out for Squatters Bloc

“From Squatters in South and North London.

SPREAD WIDELY. JOIN US.

Whose City? Our City.

Are we going to let all of London become a playground for rich fuckers? Where every inch of space is taken for profit? A sterile zone drained of history, culture and life? Are we going to hand it to them without a fight?

Details for March for Homes

“Coming up: on Saturday 31 January a big protest “March for Homes” has been called to City Hall. There will be two feeder marches for South and East London, starting at Elephant & Castle and Shoreditch respectively.

Recent high profile campaigns like E15, New Era, and Poor Doors have just put a media spotlight on what has been one of the biggest faultlines in our city for decades. Development land grabs, gentrification, rent rises and squatting bans are socially cleansing inner London. Every little space is swallowed up for profit. Homelessness is rocketing. The “lucky” among us are turned into drones slaving our lives away to pay the landlord and the banks for the privilege of bedding down in a damp box room in zone five. Fuck that shit.

This march is called by some left groups and trade unions, headed up by Defend Council Housing and The People’ Assembly, a couple of soul-eating Labour Party / Trotskyist fronts. As usual, trying to hijack our struggles for their own political ends. Though for sure there are also more genuine local groups involved too. (See list of “sponsors” here.) Below you can see the official call-out text and “demands”.

If we don’t let them, there’s no way these wannabe politicians can control our anger and creativity. These are our streets, our lives. If we don’t want to surrender every last pocket of freedom in this city, we need to start fighting for it.

March for Homes
On 31.01.15 people are meeting in East London and South London to march on Boris in City Hall to demand better homes for Londoners and an end to the housing crisis:

Control rents

Hands off council housing

Stop demolition of quality council homes

Affordable and secure homes for all

Cut rents not benefits

End Bedroom Tax and welfare caps

Build new council houses

Better pay & conditions, better housing services

The East London march is led by community campaigns from across the area including Focus E15. The route is from Shoreditch via Brick Lane to the Mayor’s Office at City Hall.

The March for Homes is supported by hundreds of groups and individuals including Unite Housing Workers, People’s Assembly (London), Defend Council Housing, DPAC, Generation Rent, St. Mungo’s Broadway, Hackney Digs, Tower Hamlets Renters, the Focus E15 campaign and many more. www.marchforhomes.org/sponsors